Lady and the Tramp
Lady and the Tramp is a 1955 American animated film produced by Walt Disney and released to theaters on June 22, 1955, by Buena Vista Distribution. The 15th animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics Canon, it was the 1st animated feature filmed in the CinemaScope widescreen film process. The story, which was based on the book Happy Dan, The Whistling Dog by Ward Greene, centers on a female American Cocker Spaniel named Lady who lives with a refined, upper middle-class family, and a male stray mutt called the Tramp. Plot On Christmas morning 1909, in an Old New England Town USA, Jim Dear gives his wife, Darling, an American Cocker Spaniel puppy that they named Lady. Lady enjoys a happy life with the couple and with a pair of dogs from the neighborhood, a Scottish Terrier named Jock and a bloodhound named Trusty. Meanwhile, across town by the railway, a stray silver Schnauzer, referred to as "The Tramp", lives life from moment to moment, be it begging for scraps from the local Italian restaurant, called "Tony's," or protecting his fellow strays Peg (a Pekingese) and Bull (an English Bulldog) from the local dog catcher. Later, Lady is saddened after Jim Dear and Darling begin treating her rather coldly. Jock and Trusty visit her, and determine that the change in behavior is due to Darling expecting a baby. While Jock and Trusty try to explain what a baby is, the eavesdropping Tramp enters the conversation and offers his own thoughts on the matter. Jock and Trusty take an immediate dislike to the stray and order him out of the yard. As Tramp leaves, he reminds Lady that "when the baby moves in, the dog moves out." In due course, the baby arrives and Jim Dear and Darling introduce Lady to the infant, to whom Lady grows fond of. Soon after, Jim Dear and Darling decide to go on a trip together, leaving their Aunt Sarah to look after the baby boy and the house. When Lady clashes with Aunt Sarah's two trouble-making Siamese cats, Si and Am, she takes Lady to a pet shop to get a muzzle. A terrified Lady escapes, but is pursued by some street dogs. Tramp sees the chase and rescues Lady. The two then visit the local zoo, where Tramp tricks a beaver into removing the muzzle. Later, Tramp shows Lady how he lives "footloose and collar-free", culminating in a candlelit Italian dinner. Lady begins to fall in love with Tramp, and the two spend the night together on a hilltop in the park. As Tramp escorts Lady back home the next day, he stirs up trouble in a chicken coop. As the two dogs flee, Lady is caught by the dog-catcher. At the pound, the other dogs admire Lady's license, as it is her way out of the pound. Soon the dogs reveal the Tramp's many girlfriends and how he is unlikely to ever settle down. Eventually, Lady is collected by Aunt Sarah, who chains her to the backyard doghouse. Jock and Trusty visit to comfort her, but when the Tramp arrives to apologize, thunder starts to rumble as Lady furiously confronts him about his past girlfriends and failure to rescue her, after which Tramp sadly leaves. Moments later, as it starts to rain, Lady sees a rat trying to sneak into the yard. While the rat is afraid of Lady, it is able to evade her and it enters the house, with the apparent intention of harming the baby. Lady barks frantically, but Aunt Sarah yells at her to be quiet. Tramp hears her and runs back to help. Tramp enters the house and confronts the rat in the nursery. Lady breaks free and races to the nursery to find the rat on the baby's crib. Tramp pounces on the rat, but knocks over the crib in the process, awakening the infant. Tramp kills the rat, hurting his right paw, but when Aunt Sarah comes to the baby's aid, she sees the two dogs and thinks they are responsible. She forces Tramp into a closet and drags Lady into the basement, then calls the pound to take Tramp away. Jim Dear and Darling return as the dogcatcher departs. They release Lady, who leads them and Aunt Sarah to the dead rat, vindicating Tramp. Overhearing everything and realizing Tramp's intentions, Jock and Trusty chase after the dogcatcher's wagon. Jock is convinced Trusty has long since lost his sense of smell, but the old bloodhound is able to find the wagon. They bark at the horses, who rear up and topple the wagon onto a utility pole. Jim Dear arrives in a taxi with Lady, and Lady is happily reunited with Tramp. However, Trusty is injured and knocked out in the struggle and Jock howls in sorrow. That Christmas, Tramp, now a part of Lady's family, has his own collar and license. Aunt Sarah has also reconciled with Lady by sending her a box of dog biscuits. Lady and the Tramp raise four puppies together: three resemble Lady (Annette Collette, and Danielle) and the other resembles Tramp (Scamp). Jock comes to see the family along with Trusty, who is carefully walking on his still-mending leg. Cast * Lee Millar as Jim Dear, Dogcatcher * Peggy Lee as Darling, Si and Am, Peg * Barbara Luddy as Lady * Sterling Holloway as Jock's singing voice (uncredited) * Bill Thompson as Jock, Joe, Bulldog, Dachsie, Policeman * Bill Baucom as Trusty * Larry Roberts as The Tramp * Verna Felton as Aunt Sarah * Dallas McKennon as Toughy, Pedro, Professor, Hyena * Alan Reed as Boris * Thurl Ravenscroft as Al the alligator * Stan Freberg as Mr. Busy the beaver * George Givot as Tony * The Mellomen (Bob Hamlin, Bill Lee, Thurl Ravenscroft, Max Smith, and Bob Stevens) as Dog Chorus Production Character's development The Tramp In earlier script versions, the tramp was first called Homer, then Rags and Bozo.